Chapter 209 - 176: Similarities

Chapter 209: Chapter 176: Similarities

Ghost Orchid Fungus was certainly not a plant; it was a fungus.

This was why Zhou Qian hadn’t answered Huai Yu’s question directly. The mutated Boston ivy on his leg was a plant, but it was also an artificially induced biological material.

The Ghost Orchid Fungus he had inquired about was a mutated fungus, so it couldn’t be strictly classified as a plant either.

Because the sample size was too small, they couldn’t even find an absolute commonality between the two. If he carelessly told Huai Yu, what if she tried to experiment in secret?

Given that she ate different delicacies every day, Zhou Qian could roughly guess that she had a special ability. He decided to leave it at that. For the short term, it was enough that she could improve her own life; there was no need to burden her with grand matters like serving the country and its people.

Human nature was unpredictable and fickle—a reality she wasn’t currently equipped to handle.

While Zhou Qian worried, Huai Yu was equally anxious on the bus.

When the bus stopped at the entrance of Golden Yuan District and the few remaining passengers got off one by one, she stared out the window, wishing she could just fly straight out.

The driver drove in silence. Since Huai Yu had been heading into the city frequently lately, even though her schedule varied, there were only so many drivers rotating on this route. Furthermore, she was essentially the only passenger who ever got off at the Rose Corridor.

In short, all the drivers remembered her now. ⅇ𝒃𝚗ℴ

Unable to hold back, the driver asked,

"Miss, do you go to the trading market every day to sell things?

"You really don’t need to travel that far. The trading market in Golden Yuan District is quite large, and the goods there are pretty decent.

"Especially since there are more people farming here than in the city. Whether the Mutant Value is high or low, there’s definitely a wider variety of produce.

"If you’re just buying daily groceries, it’s more cost-effective to do it here.

"They even sell fish."

The driver’s words were very sincere. Huai Yu’s anxiety eased a bit, and she smiled at him. "Thank you, sir! I actually didn’t know they sold fish in Golden Yuan District. I’ll go buy some tomorrow! It’s perfect since I need to visit a patient at the hospital soon."

Her answer was equally sincere, as if she really needed such an opportunity.

A sense of joy from helping others welled up in the driver’s heart. He pressed the accelerator, driving steadily forward until the bus pulled to a smooth stop at the station.

Huai Yu got off. Waiting until the bus turned around for its return trip, she quickly hurried behind the bus stop sign. She found that the bicycle she had hidden in the bushes yesterday afternoon was still untouched, but the meat delivery hadn’t arrived yet.

Checking the time, she saw it was already 8:30 AM.

After a moment of thought, she pushed the bike out and decided to head home first.

Big Pup and Second Pup had been cooped up in the bamboo basket all night, which was too hard on them. She needed to let them out to relax right away. Besides, she needed to eat something herself. She barely had the strength to pedal right now.

Finally, she figured she should bring along a few plastic and burlap sacks from home; otherwise, it would be difficult to carry those slippery, large ice blocks later.

Because she was worried about the tricycle that had yet to arrive, she pedaled back at lightning speed. When she caught sight of her ordinary little cabin, a strong sense of belonging inexplicably welled up in her heart. She had only been away for one night, yet it felt as if she had gone on a long journey.

When she lifted Big Pup and Second Pup out of the basket, their crouched bodies seemed entirely stiff. It took them quite a while to recover before they finally stood up, full of energy again.

They first strolled around the courtyard entrance, glancing at the nearby chicks. Then, HONK HONK HONK, they cried out, proudly puffing out their chests as they strutted toward the back of the bamboo forest. It seemed that being taken out and experiencing a bit of an ordeal was something they were quite proud of.

Huai Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

She went back inside to dig out the sacks, then chugged a large bowl of water—GLUG GLUG GLUG. Even though the hospital’s water maintained a very low Mutant Value, she still found it slightly unpalatable.

Finally, she popped two pieces of rock sugar into her mouth before hurriedly hopping back on her bike and riding toward the bus stop.

She had just pulled up when she spotted an old, faded dark red tricycle trundling toward her down the road, moving with a heavy CHUG CHUG CHUG!

Little did she know, the tricycle owner up ahead also breathed a sudden sigh of relief upon seeing her figure.

Oh man! It had been a long time since he’d taken such a massive order. These past four hours of pedaling had completely exhausted him. He had taken an extra break in the middle, which was why he was delayed until now.

But thinking about the large sum of points he was earning from this trip, he couldn’t help but feel a renewed surge of motivation! Pressing down hard on the pedals, he picked up speed once again.

When the two finally met, they both inexplicably burst into laughter. Huai Yu was the first to speak.

"You’ve worked hard."

"No problem at all!" He looked at the burlap sacks in her hands. "Here, let me pack it in for you. You can strap it onto your bike later."

With the bullfrogs on the front crossbar and the pheasants on the back seat, pushing the bike slowly would work just fine.

After four or five hours on the road, the large ice blocks had melted somewhat, so they were no longer perfectly square.

Seeing the man drenched in sweat, Huai Yu raised her wrist first. "Let’s settle the final payment."

Who wouldn’t love such a prompt and decisive customer?

The tricycle owner happily raised his wrist as well. "The remaining balance is 25. Miss, I’m always stationed at the highway entrance looking for work. If you need anything next time, be sure to find me!"

"I definitely will!" Huai Yu nodded emphatically.

That was a great place to get meat; she would absolutely be going back next time!

However, looking at the man, she suddenly asked, "Do you still have any energy left?"

"Huh?" The tricycle owner paused in surprise. "I guess so. But just to be clear, delivering to the Defense Army Camp will cost extra. A premium price!"

As he spoke, he stood on his tiptoes to peer down the winding road ahead. Yet, apart from the vast wilderness and small hills on both sides, there was nothing to be seen.

This made him feel even more apprehensive. Because even though nothing else was visible, the towering Rose Corridor had such an overwhelming presence.

"No, it’s not that," Huai Yu smiled apologetically. "You must have passed Golden Yuan District on your way here, right? There are a lot of groceries and sundries sold over there.

"If you still have the energy, could you go and help me buy two large water vats? The biggest kind."

She had seen them when she set up her stall there before. Such large items were difficult to transport, so they probably hadn’t sold very easily. If she hadn’t happened to book a tricycle today, she probably would have only dared to dream about buying them.

Huai Yu didn’t know exactly how many points a water vat cost. But since she couldn’t scrape together 15,000 points anyway, she figured she might as well throw caution to the wind:

"How about this? If they’re those old-fashioned ceramic water vats, I’ll take as many as you can haul back.

"You can also bring the boss directly over here so we can meet and negotiate the price.

"Once we agree on a price, I’ll leave my bicycle here as collateral, and I’ll borrow your tricycle to ride toward the camp—I’ll be back within an hour."

The distance was very short, and the job wasn’t hard at all. It even offered the tricycle owner, who had traveled a long way and was facing an empty return trip, another opportunity to earn some money.

The only catch was that he’d have to ride in the direction of the Rose Corridor—

Huai Yu smoothly offered a price: "A flat rate of 45, just to round things up for you. How does that sound?"